Anthony Joshua is the favourite in his fight against Wladimir Klitschko. Many of his casual fans, who probably don’t know who Wladimir Klitschko is, can’t fathom a scenario where he doesn’t share a ring with a fighter that’s already lost before the first bell. And while Joshua can only fight who’s put in front of him, the level at which he’s been assessed to operate at has been largely based on his mostly mediocre opposition.
Yet despite Joshua’s status as favourite, when it comes to his fight with Klitschko, we’re looking at a fight of unknown quantities. Is this fight too soon for Joshua? Can Joshua get past Klitschko’s jab? Can Klitschko’s chin, which has been exposed earlier in his career, withstand Joshua’s power? Was Klitschko’s loss to Fury just a bad night at the office for the Ukrainian or can we assume Father Time has called upon him? Has his hiatus from the ring since November 2015 resulted in ring rust? The questions are aplenty. But amidst them all, the biggest unknown is just how good is Joshua and is he as good as we’ve been led to believe?
While I think Joshua is a solidly good boxer, who can become an elite fighter, my immediate answer to the latter would be no. Joshua’s good but he’s not as good as we’ve been led to believe. That’s because his promoter Eddie Hearn, the Sky hype machine and the casuals have heaped so much hype upon him that we need to rein in any perception of the level he’s currently operating and restore some realism to what we’ve seen in his 18 fights.
Eddie Hearn has built Joshua’s career with incredible timing. Every opponent placed in front of Joshua has been been carefully considered to heavily dilute any risk while making Joshua look better than he arguably is and this fight is no different. Team Joshua’s thinking behind fighting Klitschko now is that he’s peaked, no longer represents a threat and is therefore ripe for as a perfectly timed 19th KO for Joshua. Meanwhile, Klitschko’s record and reign at the top means should Joshua get the W, he can legitimise all the hype around him without having to encounter a risk that is commensurate with the reward.
Though what if Hearn et al have taken in their own hype around Joshua, so much so that they’re unable to gauge the level he’s operating at? What if after 18 fights and 18 KOs, they’ve started to believe their own carefully constructed narrative that Joshua is invincible, compounded with a misguided risk assessment of Klitschko? If Klitschko turns up and isn’t the fighter that was made to look lacklustre by Tyson Fury, that isn’t the narrative Team Joshua will be anticipating. It’s also a narrative that would be the sternest test Joshua has had to date and a venture into uncharted waters where we don't know whether we’ll see Joshua sink or swim.
There’s no doubt that Joshua has explosive power and he puts his shots together with an ease that would suggest a more robust resume than he actually has. His hand speed is impressive as is his movement and ability to cut off the ring. Although his poor head movement, questionable chin and stamina seem to have been completely disregarded in assessing how he’ll fare against an opponent with a supreme jab, power and above all an attribute that Joshua doesn’t have in experience.
With 64 wins (and four losses), Klitschko has experience in abundance. He won’t be fazed by Joshua and if he wins this fight, it’ll be his experience trumping Joshua’s youth. Experience will be what mitigates any ring rust and experience will have mentally steered him back from his defeat against Fury. Experience is the ace that Joshua just doesn't have and it could be to his detriment.
Joshua doesn’t seem to have his usual air of confidence which could be telling of his lack of experience. In The Gloves are Off, which was hardly a barnstormer, Joshua seemed poised but his demeanour suggested he’s not as confident as usual. Perhaps he was merely showing Klitschko a level of respect his previous opponents didn’t warrant but in the media workout too, there were signs that his confidence may have been affected by the task ahead. Joshua can be heard to be asking several and constant questions of Rob McCracken. That’s a good sign of a fighter who is always seeking to learn and improve rather than assume the hubris many elite fighters adopt. Conversely, it could also be interpreted as having an air of needing reassurance in a fight where he’s less assured of the outcome.
I’ve long been critical of Klitschko’s ‘jab and grab’ style insofar as providing entertainment value but its effectiveness can’t be denied. With Joshua’s poor head movement (which I expect McCracken has sought to address), he could be a walking target for Klitschko’s jab and there’s also the question mark over how his chin will hold up against Klitschko’s shots. There’s also been uncertainty around whether and how Joshua will survive when he gets hit cleanly because he’s not used to it based on his gun shy opponents thus far. That isn’t just physically but mentally. Joshua is used to turning up and blasting his opponents out but should his fight with Klitschko deviate from that, there’s no real precedent for how he’ll deal with it.
Klitschko has the experience and patience, and a willingness to adopt a safety first approach en route to victory, that it’s unlikely he’ll go looking for a KO. If Joshua can’t neutralise Klitschko’s jab, I expect Klitschko would happily give us another jab and grab borefest performance for 12 rounds while navigating himself to a points win. There’s little chance of a tear up in this fight and that suits Klitschko. Whereas Joshua has come to be known as a knockout artist. But what happens if the knock out doesn’t come? Depending on the Klitschko that turns up, Joshua could be encountering a scenario unlike any he’s experienced in his professional career and no one knows how he’ll deal with it let alone if he’s able to.
A Joshua victory would be an amazing and deserved achievement. If Klitschko comes out on his a-game in the process, it would also answer a lot of the questions around just how good Joshua is. The casuals might not realise it but there are levels in boxing. And based on his fights to date, we just don’t know where Joshua’s level is. In a fight with so many unknowns, Joshua is taking a gamble in this being the fight where he seeks to provide those answers. Nonetheless, there’s a chance that he and his team don’t realise just how much of a risk they’re actually taking; especially if they’ve unknowingly taken in their own hype.
Yet despite Joshua’s status as favourite, when it comes to his fight with Klitschko, we’re looking at a fight of unknown quantities. Is this fight too soon for Joshua? Can Joshua get past Klitschko’s jab? Can Klitschko’s chin, which has been exposed earlier in his career, withstand Joshua’s power? Was Klitschko’s loss to Fury just a bad night at the office for the Ukrainian or can we assume Father Time has called upon him? Has his hiatus from the ring since November 2015 resulted in ring rust? The questions are aplenty. But amidst them all, the biggest unknown is just how good is Joshua and is he as good as we’ve been led to believe?
While I think Joshua is a solidly good boxer, who can become an elite fighter, my immediate answer to the latter would be no. Joshua’s good but he’s not as good as we’ve been led to believe. That’s because his promoter Eddie Hearn, the Sky hype machine and the casuals have heaped so much hype upon him that we need to rein in any perception of the level he’s currently operating and restore some realism to what we’ve seen in his 18 fights.
Eddie Hearn has built Joshua’s career with incredible timing. Every opponent placed in front of Joshua has been been carefully considered to heavily dilute any risk while making Joshua look better than he arguably is and this fight is no different. Team Joshua’s thinking behind fighting Klitschko now is that he’s peaked, no longer represents a threat and is therefore ripe for as a perfectly timed 19th KO for Joshua. Meanwhile, Klitschko’s record and reign at the top means should Joshua get the W, he can legitimise all the hype around him without having to encounter a risk that is commensurate with the reward.
Though what if Hearn et al have taken in their own hype around Joshua, so much so that they’re unable to gauge the level he’s operating at? What if after 18 fights and 18 KOs, they’ve started to believe their own carefully constructed narrative that Joshua is invincible, compounded with a misguided risk assessment of Klitschko? If Klitschko turns up and isn’t the fighter that was made to look lacklustre by Tyson Fury, that isn’t the narrative Team Joshua will be anticipating. It’s also a narrative that would be the sternest test Joshua has had to date and a venture into uncharted waters where we don't know whether we’ll see Joshua sink or swim.
There’s no doubt that Joshua has explosive power and he puts his shots together with an ease that would suggest a more robust resume than he actually has. His hand speed is impressive as is his movement and ability to cut off the ring. Although his poor head movement, questionable chin and stamina seem to have been completely disregarded in assessing how he’ll fare against an opponent with a supreme jab, power and above all an attribute that Joshua doesn’t have in experience.
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Joshua doesn’t seem to have his usual air of confidence which could be telling of his lack of experience. In The Gloves are Off, which was hardly a barnstormer, Joshua seemed poised but his demeanour suggested he’s not as confident as usual. Perhaps he was merely showing Klitschko a level of respect his previous opponents didn’t warrant but in the media workout too, there were signs that his confidence may have been affected by the task ahead. Joshua can be heard to be asking several and constant questions of Rob McCracken. That’s a good sign of a fighter who is always seeking to learn and improve rather than assume the hubris many elite fighters adopt. Conversely, it could also be interpreted as having an air of needing reassurance in a fight where he’s less assured of the outcome.
I’ve long been critical of Klitschko’s ‘jab and grab’ style insofar as providing entertainment value but its effectiveness can’t be denied. With Joshua’s poor head movement (which I expect McCracken has sought to address), he could be a walking target for Klitschko’s jab and there’s also the question mark over how his chin will hold up against Klitschko’s shots. There’s also been uncertainty around whether and how Joshua will survive when he gets hit cleanly because he’s not used to it based on his gun shy opponents thus far. That isn’t just physically but mentally. Joshua is used to turning up and blasting his opponents out but should his fight with Klitschko deviate from that, there’s no real precedent for how he’ll deal with it.
Klitschko has the experience and patience, and a willingness to adopt a safety first approach en route to victory, that it’s unlikely he’ll go looking for a KO. If Joshua can’t neutralise Klitschko’s jab, I expect Klitschko would happily give us another jab and grab borefest performance for 12 rounds while navigating himself to a points win. There’s little chance of a tear up in this fight and that suits Klitschko. Whereas Joshua has come to be known as a knockout artist. But what happens if the knock out doesn’t come? Depending on the Klitschko that turns up, Joshua could be encountering a scenario unlike any he’s experienced in his professional career and no one knows how he’ll deal with it let alone if he’s able to.
A Joshua victory would be an amazing and deserved achievement. If Klitschko comes out on his a-game in the process, it would also answer a lot of the questions around just how good Joshua is. The casuals might not realise it but there are levels in boxing. And based on his fights to date, we just don’t know where Joshua’s level is. In a fight with so many unknowns, Joshua is taking a gamble in this being the fight where he seeks to provide those answers. Nonetheless, there’s a chance that he and his team don’t realise just how much of a risk they’re actually taking; especially if they’ve unknowingly taken in their own hype.
